In March 2001, Rachel Capra Craig admitted using a "cocktail" of drugs to kill her 14-year-old daughter, Chelsea, who had Rett syndrome, a condition that has some of the same characteristics as autism.
Sixteen months later, Mrs. Craig committed suicide during her second unsupervised release from a Montreal psychiatric institution.
In August 2003, Villanova University professor Mine An Ener confessed to using a kitchen knife to slice the throat of her 6-month-old daughter, Raya, who had Down syndrome.
Less than a month later, Ener's lifeless body was found on a day-room mattress in a county jail. She had wrapped a plastic trash bag around her own head.
On April 12, 2006, security cameras on the Hull Bridge in England captured images of Alison Davies and her 12-year-old son, Ryan, who had autism, jumping over the rails to their deaths.
And the day before Mother's Day this year, Dr. Karen McCarron admittedly used a plastic trash bag to suffocate her 3-year-old daughter, Katie, who had autism.
Now McCarron is on suicide watch in a county jail, while her attorney argues for a reduction in bail.
Do you sense a pattern, here?
Here's another pattern I hope we can avoid:
In every one of these cases, neighbors and family members described the murderer as a lovely, devoted mother. In each case the murderer was portrayed as a desperate victim of her child's disability and a victim of a social service system that failed to provide enough of the right supports.
After each death, parent groups advocating for more government support have said that more funding would help keep such tragedies from happening.
While I understand the genuine need for more family supports, I wish that those who advocate for such supports would avoid exploiting these extreme cases for their causes. Doing so reinforces the idea that these children are horrible burdens to their parents and to society.
In no way can anyone justify murdering a child, nor sympathize with the killer.
Never forget, each of these women had infinite alternatives to murder.
Dave Reynolds, Editor
Related:
"Chelsea Capra Craig"
"Mine An EnerMom Kills Infant Daughter With Down Syndrome, Then Kills Self"
Body Of Mom Found In River; Advocates Call For Autism Review
Doctor Says She Killed Daughter To "End Their Pain"
For the fourth year in a row, Jack Kevorkian's attorney has pleaded with Michigan's governor to release him early, saying that it is cruel to keep "Dr. Death" in prison because of his poor health.
Each time, the attorney has argued that Kevorkian will probably not last much longer behind bars.
Each year, Kevorkian has lived another 12 months to "suffer" from the plight that he created for himself (don't forget, he's the one who pushed CBS and "60 Minutes" for the chance to announce his crime -- complete with video -- in front of millions of viewers on national television).
If Jack is a victim, he's simply a victim of his own zealousness or whatever it was that drove him past the edge of human decency, not to mention, the law.
I wonder why this "suffering Jack" isn't talking about ending his own torment through the same means he used to help at least 130 others to end their lives.
Do you suppose he's found the light, that living with a medical condition or disability is, after all, better than not living at all?
Nah.
He just doesn't want to have to pay for his crime.
Dave Reynolds ¶ 11:37 PM 2 comments
In its public response to an EEOC lawsuit claiming it discriminated against a man because of his blindness, UPS cited its "long-standing partnerships with many groups that support opportunities foe (?) the disabled, such as the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Organization on Disability and the American Organization of Disabled Persons."
The "American Organization of Disabled Persons"?
I've never heard of them.
So, I typed "American Organization of Disabled Persons" into Google, MSN, and Yahoo! search engines and found no results -- except for links to UPS' own response. Nothing disability-related popped up when I searched for "AODP".
What does it tell us about a business or individual that professes to have "long-standing partnerships" with disability groups, but cannot accurately name them?
Now, I could be wrong. So, if you know about AODP, please let me know. -- Dave Reynolds ¶ 1:42 PM 1 comments
Kudos to Equip for Equality, UCP of Illinois, and other community advocates in Illinois!
Your persistence and clarity in pushing the message that reopening Lincoln Developmental Center would be discriminatory, illegal, and downright wrong has apparently paid off: Gov. Blagojevich has said publicly that he has been hearing from opponents of the plan and he now realizes that it might have been a mistake for him to promise to do so during his election campaign.
My People First friends say we have three jobs to do: Educate. Educate. Educate.
Congratulations on your educational and advocacy efforts!
Of course, as we knew all along, opening LDC was merely about jobs and votes with little consideration given to the people with developmental disabilities who would be housed there.
It looks like you still have a tough row to hoe and more educating to do, however, since a major candidate running against Blagojevich is now making the same promise he made three years ago.
Oy, vey. When will they ever learn?
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/institutions/il/ldc.htm
Dave Reynolds, Editor ¶ 12:23 AM 0 comments
